


travelling in snow: may cause unexpected company

by Propriety_is_not_a_priority



Series: Tumblr [11]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Dwarfs of color, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Slight implication of racist stereotypes sorta, Snow Day, Trans Character, Trans Nori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 11:31:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5495558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Propriety_is_not_a_priority/pseuds/Propriety_is_not_a_priority
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>in which Nori is impatient and won't admit to worrying, no dwarf is too tough for a cuddle, and diversity is forced upon middle earth</p>
            </blockquote>





	travelling in snow: may cause unexpected company

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blue_Sparkle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Sparkle/gifts).



> A Nwalin Gift Exchange fic for Sparkle, who wished for freezing outside with warming up later, fluff, a snow day and for Nori to be trans and Dwalin to be mixed race. I did a bit of a mix-and-match, from the options they gave me, and it ended up being this fluffy mess, with literally no plot??

**Dwalin**

Dwalin squinted into the woods on his right, through the downpour of snow. He’d seen something moving, he was sure of it, and was mentally preparing for anything from game, to bring back for supper, to bandits attacking the caravan. Most orcs didn’t dare venture this close to Erebor anymore, but human criminals were known to be daring sometimes, and it was better to be careful.

Instead, with little fanfare, Nori came slinking out of the bushes. His red hair was hidden by a ermine fur hat, which had probably help his camouflage, but his beard was almost impossible to hide in its natural glory. He grinned wildly at Dwalin when he saw he’d been spotted. One of the younger guards saw him half a second later and almost startled out of his own skin, fumbling to draw an axe, before Dwalin could grumble at him to relax.

“Nori.” His voice came out fonder than planned, but it wasn’t like any of the dwarrow present didn’t know what they were to each other. “Out for a bit of a walk, are you?”

“Well, I was feeling a bit bored - impatient. D’you know, you were supposed to arrive yesterday?” He was crossing his arms pretending to be annoyed, but ended up mostly looking cold.

Dwalin halted his pony, to talk, waving the rest of the dwarrow around him along. He knew they were late of course, but the estimated time was always a gamble, especially with the merchant caravans that had goods to bring. Easy enough to travel at a set pace with only ponies, but wagons were unpredictable and a pain in the ass, especially during the winter. The Iron Hills where close enough to travel to most of the year, but if they’d know the snow would come early this year, they’d have postponed.

“So I suppose the logical response was a quick jaunt into the wildlands?” As if they didn’t both know that Nori was here because he worried. He always got more restless when Dwalin was away, but the wind picking up on top of the delay would definitely have pushed him from antsy to action. Dwalin let it go. He scooted a bit back in his saddle instead, and patted the space in front. “Hop up, then.”

 

**Nori**

Nori managed to get on the pony without kicking it (or Dwalin), but it was a close call. They were both bundled up, Dwalin in his heavy fur, on top of his long-sleeved leathers, and Nori in two layers of jumpers, that he’d ‘borrowed’ from Ori, and the extra layers made him clumsier than usual.

His back was pressed against Dwalin’s chest, and he enthusiastically snuggled closer, drawing the edges of Dwalin’s furs together in front of him, so they were both covered by them. It’s was cold, and getting colder, and there was no shame in cuddling for warmth, not even if you were a big scary guard. Dwalin evidently agreed, since he let one hand sneak around Nori’s waist to squeeze him so close they were practically melting together.

Dwalin got the pony moving to catch up with the others, and Nori settled in to ask about the journey. It was a routine trip, but Dwalin was good at collecting stories he thought might amuse Nori, and it was always interesting to hear about his visits to other dwarrow settlements. Nori could pass as native most places, since his paler skin was common in the families, but the warm tones of Dwalin’s skin marked him as a Durin, so he was always recognized as a stranger, and summarily exposed to some incredibly entertaining encounters - at least from Nori’s perspective. The Iron Hills weren’t the worst though, considering the overlap between Erebor of old and the current population living there. And Dain himself had the dark curls of a Durin, even if his skin was light.

“It’s not that funny. She kept trying to find a subtle way to ask me if I’d ever had prophetic dreams, as if every single one of us are born with Durin’s gifts.” He grumbled in his beard, but he was smiling too, and Nori didn’t feel bad about giggling. Old dwarrow. Terrible, but funny.

They were less than an hour’s travel from Erebor at this point, which was honestly a relief, because even cozying up with Dwalin, the cold was getting through. The wind was making the air sting, and Nori has never been fond of freezing. He was regretting not wearing his binding west for the trip. It made extended movement uncomfortable sometimes, and with so much clothing on, it didn’t really make a difference on his looks - but in cases like this it kept him warm too, tight around his chest, and keeping heat in. It was what made him hate it in the summer, but it could’ve been nice right this moment.

“What do you want for dinner?” He asked, after a short content silence, wherein Dwalin shamelessly buried his face in Nori’s hair, and let the pony go where it wanted, and Nori closed his eyes and pretended he wasn’t feeling cold. Food was always a quality distraction.

Dwalin hummed thoughtfully, preking up a bit. They could afford whatever they wanted now, back in the mountain, but on the road there was no such thing as being picky, no matter your status and fortune. “I want- pork. And roasted roots. Something with gravy.” He bumped his forehead into Nori’s temple, and put a slight growl into his voice: “Under no circumstances do I want soup.”

“Deal. I can drop by the market, while you tidy things up with Tali, and then we can meet back home.”

“Ay, sounds like a plan.”

“Remember to get paid this time.”

* * *

Their rooms felt different with Dwalin in them too. He’d been quick to start a fire, while Nori put the goods away and got the meat roasting, but it wasn’t just the heat from the fireplace making the entire place feel warmer.

Nori had tossed his outer clothes in a bundle on the floor when they came in, but Dwalin put them up by the fire too, next to his own furs. He’d made Nori change into a new pair of socks too, and they’d sat next to each other while putting them on, bumping knees and elbows. Dwalin had accidentally tried to put on one of Nori’s, and the poor thing could barely stretch over all his toes.

It all felt so incredibly domestic that Nori could feel a faint part of himself scoffing. The one part that could never forget about Ered Luin, where cold meant death and being affectionate meant pointing an arrow at your own weaknesses. But here, ten years after the battle, the other parts could almost drown it out, and _they_ were busy being happy and in love


End file.
